A rousing, exquisitely beautiful recording of six centuries of European music for the winter solstice. The 55-voice chorus of adults and children perform timeless winter favorites from England, France, Czechoslovakia, Pola... more &raquond, and Russia.&laquo less

Synopsis

Album Description

A rousing, exquisitely beautiful recording of six centuries of European music for the winter solstice. The 55-voice chorus of adults and children perform timeless winter favorites from England, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia.

CD Reviews

Sublime

Steve | Michigan | 12/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was so sick of the horrible Light FM Christmas dribble that I went on a long search for true, historical Christmas music. This album was a remarkable find: lovely Christmas music and then some. This - in my opinion - is the very best project that Revels has produced. There is not one - not one - dud here. All songs are done in era-specific instruments and in their native languages, the brass ensemble is beautiful, the Chorus is perfect. The children's choir seems to be a bit older than those in other Revels albums, and they come across as being more trained and it shows: their singing on Ding Dong Merrily on High is simply wonderful. The French song Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie is haunting. I could go on. Listening to this is like taking a trip back in time; you can feel the history. It is sublime."

Brilliant and joyful

Robert D. Harmon | Mill Valley, CA | 12/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who has been fortunate enough to see the Christmas Revels in various cities will remember it fondly as a live celebration of older Christmases, a time of feasting and song and music. These have had a number of different themes: the Revels set in Elizabethan or Victorian times in England, or in a village setting elsewhere in the world. This album is a sampler from several different such shows, apparently, including French and Eastern European material.

And it is a rich collection of carols that are joyous and rarely heard. Maoz Tsur is a beautifully-arranged version of a Hanukkah song, with splendid accompaniment by solo French horn and C trumpet. The Somerset Wassail and Strike Up Your Instruments of Joy are sparkling English carols; Sing We Noel is about as uplifting a Christmas carol as you'll find.

The Revels shows often speak to a darker side, and L'Homme Arme raises the figure of a menacing armored man, no doubt portrayed in live Revels, as they sometimes do, as a towering stick figure. There's also the fantastic vision of a dance of a wolf and a hare in J'ai Vu Le Loup.

The voices, including the children's chorus, are wonderful and the instrumentation is high quality. Not to be missed."

Caroling

timtex | Fort Worth, TX | 12/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an interesting group that I had never heard of before, and I look forward to discovering more of their records. The MP3 version of this album is a bargain, because you get 32 songs and about 70 minutes of music for $8.99. The arrangements here remind me of the Boston Cameratas' recordings of ancient Christmas music. Most people would fail to recognize a majority of the songs here, let alone recognize them as holiday music, but they are wonderfully simple and festive. Definitely not for everyone, but for those who want to explore outside the vortex of popular Christmas songs, this is a great way to go."